Black Queens to discover 2027 World Cup playoff opponents on 20 August

Ghana’s Black Queens will discover their opponents for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup playoff tournament on Thursday, August 20, as they continue their bid to return to the global stage for the first time since 2007.

The Black Queens missed out on automatic qualification after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Malawi in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana, however, kept their World Cup hopes alive by defeating Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 in the subsequent play-in match, securing a place in the intercontinental playoff tournament.

The Black Queens have been placed in Pot Three alongside Ecuador ahead of Thursday’s draw. Pot One contains Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan, while South Africa and Papua New Guinea make up Pot Two.

The playoff tournament will begin with a preliminary phase in which each team will play three matches. The two highest-ranked teams at the end of that stage will progress to the final phase.

They will then join four teams that have already qualified directly for the final phase – two from the CONCACAF region, Venezuela from South America and one team from Europe.

The final phase will feature single-leg knockout matches, with the three winners earning qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

For Ghana, that means four more matches stand between the Black Queens and a return to the Women’s World Cup.

The Black Queens last featured at the tournament in 2007 and will be determined to end their long absence by navigating the playoff route successfully.